Top 12 General Laborer Skills to Put on Your Resume
In today's job market, standing out as a general laborer demands a resume that doesn’t just list duties, but shows real capability. Below are 12 skills that can make your profile snap into focus for employers and help you present your abilities with clarity and punch.
General Laborer Skills
- Forklift Operation
- Welding
- Carpentry
- Plumbing
- Electrical Repair
- Masonry
- Landscaping
- Painting
- Scaffolding
- Excavation
- Concrete Finishing
- Heavy Machinery
1. Forklift Operation
Forklift operation means safely maneuvering a forklift to move, load, and unload materials in places like warehouses or construction sites. Smooth, careful, efficient.
Why It's Important
It boosts productivity, reduces strain, and cuts down on avoidable accidents. Moving heavy stuff safely isn’t optional—it’s core to the job.
How to Improve Forklift Operation Skills
Blend training, strict safety habits, and steady practice.
Training: Complete a certified course to learn controls, load handling, and safe procedures.
Safety Protocols: Follow OSHA guidance, wear proper PPE, respect load charts, and run pre-shift inspections.
Equipment Maintenance: Inspect brakes, steering, hydraulics, and warning devices. Use the manufacturer’s manual for maintenance schedules.
Practice: Run supervised drills in marked areas. Tight turns. Precise stacking. Calm control.
Stay Updated: Take refreshers, review site policies, and keep current on safety bulletins.
Do that, and you’ll see fewer near-misses and faster material flow.
How to Display Forklift Operation Skills on Your Resume
2. Welding
Welding joins metal by melting edges and adding filler, creating a solid bond once cooled. Clean prep. Proper heat. Strong results.
Why It's Important
It keeps structures sound and machinery alive, enabling repairs and builds that last under stress.
How to Improve Welding Skills
Practice Regularly: Repeat techniques until your hands know the motion. Beads tighten. Spatter drops.
Learn from Pros: Ask questions, observe, and get feedback from experienced welders and shop leads.
Understand Materials: Steel, stainless, aluminum—different prep, settings, and filler choices.
Safety First: Use proper PPE, ventilation, and fire safety. No shortcuts around electricity and heat.
Use the Right Tools: Keep machines tuned, choose correct consumables, and maintain clean tips and nozzles.
Take Courses: Short workshops or certificates sharpen technique and expand your process range.
Stay Current: Processes evolve. Review new methods and equipment periodically.
Refine, test, repeat—your welds will tell the story.
How to Display Welding Skills on Your Resume
3. Carpentry
Carpentry covers cutting, shaping, and installing building materials for frames, finishes, and repairs. Measure twice. Cut once. Fit tight.
Why It's Important
It anchors construction work. Frames, forms, trim—so many jobs depend on accurate, sturdy carpentry.
How to Improve Carpentry Skills
Practice Regularly: Master basics—square cuts, plumb walls, clean joints—before fancy builds.
Learn from Experts: Watch seasoned carpenters, and study video lessons from reputable training sources.
Know Your Tools: Tune saws, sharpen blades, and learn safe, efficient use of each tool.
Read Widely: Books and trade magazines reveal tricks of layout, joinery, and finishing.
Join a Community: Share projects, ask questions, and get critique from peers and mentors.
Progress is a stack of small, accurate steps—built day after day.
How to Display Carpentry Skills on Your Resume
4. Plumbing
Plumbing installs, repairs, and maintains pipes, fixtures, and systems for water, gas, and waste. Clean lines. No leaks. Code compliant.
Why It's Important
It safeguards health and comfort by delivering clean water and removing waste reliably.
How to Improve Plumbing Skills
Learn the Basics: Pipe types, fittings, venting, pressure, and drainage principles.
Get Hands-On: Assist licensed plumbers, pursue apprenticeships, and tackle supervised repairs.
Use Tutorials: Study step-by-step walkthroughs—from fixing leaks to setting fixtures—to build technique.
Know Local Codes: Understand code requirements, permits, and inspection expectations.
Invest in Tools: Start with core tools (wrenches, cutters, a good torch) and expand as your work grows.
Stay Updated: Track changes in materials, fittings, and best practices.
Plumbing rewards careful planning and tidy workmanship. Always test your work.
How to Display Plumbing Skills on Your Resume
5. Electrical Repair
Electrical repair means diagnosing, fixing, and maintaining electrical systems and components so they run safely and efficiently. For general laborers: swaps, installs, basic troubleshooting—always under proper supervision when required.
Why It's Important
It prevents fires and shocks, keeps systems efficient, and reduces costly downtime.
How to Improve Electrical Repair Skills
Education: Grasp current, voltage, resistance, and circuits before touching tools.
Safety Training: Lockout/tagout, PPE, and safe testing procedures are non-negotiable.
Hands-On Practice: Start small—outlets, switches, fixtures—under experienced oversight.
Certification: Credentials from recognized programs (e.g., NCCER) build credibility.
Stay Updated: Review code changes and standards routinely.
Tool Proficiency: Learn meters, testers, strippers, and drivers; handle them with accuracy.
Electricity demands respect. Plan, verify, and work methodically.
How to Display Electrical Repair Skills on Your Resume
6. Masonry
Masonry builds and repairs with brick, block, stone, and mortar. Laborers support by mixing, staging, setting up scaffolds, and keeping sites clean and efficient.
Why It's Important
It creates durable structures and finishes that resist weather and time, forming the backbone of many projects.
How to Improve Masonry Skills
Practice: Lay lines, butter joints, strike neat—repetition sharpens accuracy.
Learn from Pros: Seek apprenticeships or mentorship with experienced masons.
Know Materials: Understand mortar types, block vs. brick behavior, and curing conditions.
Master Techniques: Level, plumb, bond patterns, and consistent joint profiles.
Stay Updated: New products and methods appear—keep informed.
Safety: PPE, dust control, and proper lifting reduce injuries and fatigue.
Credentials: Training and certifications can open doors to higher-responsibility roles.
Good masonry is steady, measured, and deliberate. Let the line and level guide you.
How to Display Masonry Skills on Your Resume
7. Landscaping
Landscaping shapes and maintains outdoor spaces—plants, lawns, beds, paths, and structures—to look good and function well across seasons.
Why It's Important
It boosts curb appeal, supports environmental health, and raises property value. For laborers, it offers variety and visible results.
How to Improve Landscaping Skills
Soil Health: Build soil with composting and aeration. Healthy roots, happy plants.
Plant Selection: Favor native or climate-appropriate species to cut water and upkeep.
Mulching: Retain moisture, suppress weeds, and moderate soil temperatures.
Efficient Watering: Use drip lines or targeted watering at the root zone.
Regular Maintenance: Weed, prune, edge, and deadhead on a schedule.
Hardscaping: Add paths, borders, and stonework to define space and improve flow.
Design Intent: Plan for color, texture, height, and seasonal changes.
Plant with purpose, maintain with rhythm—landscapes thrive on consistency.
How to Display Landscaping Skills on Your Resume
8. Painting
Painting applies coatings—paint, stain, varnish—to protect surfaces and make them look sharp. Prep is half the job.
Why It's Important
It shields surfaces from wear and weather while lifting the space visually. Value climbs when finishes are clean and durable.
How to Improve Painting Skills
Learn the Basics: Paint types, primers, sheen levels, and brush/roller selection.
Prep Perfectly: Clean, patch, sand, mask, and prime—smooth surfaces produce smooth results.
Brush and Roller Technique: Cut clean edges, maintain a wet edge, roll with consistent pressure.
Practice: Small rooms, trim boards, or community projects build speed and accuracy.
Review Mistakes: Drips, lap marks, flashing—identify causes and correct them next time.
Stay Updated: Follow tips from reputable sources like the Painting Contractors Association.
Quality shows in the details: straight lines, even coverage, tidy cleanup.
How to Display Painting Skills on Your Resume
9. Scaffolding
Scaffolding is a temporary platform system that supports workers and materials so tasks at height can happen safely and efficiently.
Why It's Important
It creates stable access where ladders fall short, reducing fall risk and improving productivity for work aloft.
How to Improve Scaffolding Skills
Training: Cover assembly, modification, moving, use, and teardown with competent instruction.
Inspection: Inspect before each shift and after changes. Tag systems. Fix issues immediately.
Secure Installation: Follow manufacturer instructions. Plumb, level, and anchor correctly.
Load Management: Respect capacity limits for people, tools, and materials.
Guardrails and Protection: Install guardrails, toe boards, and fall protections where required.
Safe Access: Provide ladders or stair towers for climbing—no improvising.
Weather Watch: Pause work in high winds, storms, or icy conditions.
Communication: Keep the crew aligned on changes, hazards, and procedures.
Good scaffolding is built on planning and vigilance. One missed detail can ripple.
How to Display Scaffolding Skills on Your Resume
10. Excavation
Excavation is controlled earthmoving—digging, trenching, grading—to prepare sites, lay utilities, and set foundations.
Why It's Important
Everything rests on it. Stable foundations and safe underground systems start with proper excavation.
How to Improve Excavation Skills
Safety Training: Understand OSHA excavation standards, soil classification, and trench safety.
Equipment Handling: Train on excavators, backhoes, and compactors; start simple and scale up.
Soil Analysis: Read soil types, moisture, and stability to choose methods and protections.
Efficient Techniques: Plan dig paths, manage spoils, and grade accurately to reduce rework.
Physical Readiness: Maintain fitness and hydration—excavation is demanding, day in day out.
Measure depths often. Spot hazards early. Work the plan, adjust as conditions shift.
How to Display Excavation Skills on Your Resume
11. Concrete Finishing
Concrete finishing shapes and smooths freshly placed concrete to the required texture and look—screeding, floating, edging, troweling, and curing.
Why It's Important
A proper finish improves durability, safety, and appearance while helping the slab resist wear and weather. It’s the difference between rough and ready.
How to Improve Concrete Finishing Skills
Prepare Formwork: Clean forms, apply release agent, and confirm elevations and slopes.
Select the Right Mix: Match mix design to conditions and performance needs.
Consolidate Properly: Use vibration or rodding to remove air voids without overworking.
Bull Float: After screeding, bull float to embed aggregate and knock down ridges.
Edging: Run an edger early to create rounded edges that resist chipping.
Control Joints: Place joints at correct spacing and depth to manage cracking.
Float and Trowel: Time the passes. Magnesium float first, then steel trowel for a tighter finish if specified.
Cure Correctly: Maintain moisture and temperature to achieve strength and durability.
Seal as Needed: Apply a sealer suited to the environment and use case.
Timing is everything. Watch the surface, not the clock.
How to Display Concrete Finishing Skills on Your Resume
12. Heavy Machinery
Heavy machinery includes large equipment—dozers, excavators, forklifts, cranes—used to move earth, lift loads, and speed up tough work.
Why It's Important
It multiplies output, reduces physical strain, and makes big jobs feasible on tight timelines.
How to Improve Heavy Machinery Skills
Regular Maintenance: Follow service intervals, monitor fluids and filters, and log issues early.
Operator Training: Formal instruction and seat time build safe habits and smooth control.
Use Technology: Telematics, grade control, and monitoring tools can cut fuel waste and downtime.
Respect the machine. Smooth is fast. Fast is safe.
How to Display Heavy Machinery Skills on Your Resume
